The recommendation follows a request by the examiner in May that the Council provide more evidence on its residential valuations. She said that it was inappropriate for the Council to have used the 25% affordable housing target set out in a supplementary planning document (SPD) to support its proposed residential CIL rate of £80 per square metre, rather than the 30% target set out in its Core Strategy.
The Council subsequently re-examined its affordable housing and land value assumptions and said the results showed that a residential rate of £80 per sq m was achievable. The examiner acknowledged those results in her report (12-page / 170KB PDF) to the Council and concluded that the rate was appropriate.
"The results suggest there would be sufficient development value to support 35% affordable housing and a residential CIL rate of £80 per sq m across Exeter, as well as s106 contributions," she said. She concluded that all the rates in the DCS, including the residential rate, struck an "appropriate balance" under CIL regulations and that they should not put the overall development of the area "at serious risk".
The Council said in a statement that it will now consider whether and when to approve the charging schedule. It said that an implementation date of 1 November 2013 had been proposed.
